Liberal Vannin Party

Liberal Vannin Party
Leader Kate Beecroft MHK
Chairman Roy Redmayne[1]
Founder Peter Karran MHK
Founded 2006
Headquarters Douglas, Isle of Man
Ideology Liberalism
Manx devolution
Democratic liberalism
Political position Centrism
International affiliation Liberal International (observer)
House of Keys
3 / 24
Legislative Council
0 / 11
Website
www.liberalvannin.org

The Liberal Vannin Party (LVP) is a political party in the Isle of Man. It was founded in 2006 by Peter Karran, then an Independent MHK for Onchan. Karran had been, until 2004, a member of the Manx Labour Party.

The Liberal Vannin Party put forward several candidates at the 2006 general election and had two MHKs elected. In the 2011 general election, they returned three MHKs. This result was mirrored in the 2016 general election. As of 2016, they are the only party in the House of Keys; the remaining 21 members are independents.

The party campaigns on a platform of greater accountability and transparency in government[2] and also strives for further devolution from the United Kingdom to the Isle of Man.

History

The Liberal Vannin Party was founded in 2006 by Peter Karran, a former member of the Manx Labour Party. Karran was joined by Tony Wright who was already intending to contest Rushen as an independent. It was announced that their target seats would be Douglas South, Middle and Onchan.[2]

The party stood nine candidates in the Manx general election, 2006, with two of them being elected: Peter Karran for Onchan and Bill Malarky for Douglas South. Karran received more votes in Onchan than any other candidate in the Isle of Man in the election. After being elected representing the Liberal Vannin Party, Malarky resigned from the party and sat as an independent. The Liberal Vannin Party sent delegates to the Liberal International's 2007 Hamburg Conference, where they became Observer Members pending verification at the 2008 Belfast Conference.[3] Since the 2008 Belfast Conference, Liberal Vannin has been an official Observer Member of Liberal International.[4] The Liberal Vannin Party is also listed as a "Sister Party" of the British Liberal Democrats.[5]

At the Manx general election, 2011, the Liberal Vannin Party stood ten candidates, received 20.9% of the vote and returned three Members of the House of Keys.[6] These were Peter Karran and Zac Hall in Onchan, and Kate Beecroft in Douglas South. Beecroft, standing as the official Liberal Vannin candidate, defeated Bill Malarky who had previously been a member of the party but was contesting the seat as an independent.

From 2011 to 2012, Karran served in the Isle of Man Government as the Minister of Education and Children.[7] In May 2012 Zac Hall had his membership revoked for "bringing the party into disrepute", leaving them with only two MHKs.[8] In 2014 Kate Beecroft was elected Leader of the Liberal Vannin Party, with Karran saying it "was time for a change".[9][10][11]

Policies

The Liberal Vannin Party (LVP) says it is committed to "sustainable development" for the protection of the environment and supports the encouragement of a culture of recycling and environmental awareness.

The Liberal Vannin Party are developing a "green" policy assisted by Kevin Joseph McCarthy MSc and aim to invest in the appropriate technology and infrastructure to support this important environmental and economic goal in the spirit of the United Nations’ "Agenda 21". As an integral part of this goal the LVP wants to investigate tidal and wind power as a means of generating alternative energy sources for the Island.

Election results

House of Keys

House of Keys
Election year # of overall votes % of overall vote # of seats won
2006 7,323 Increase 14.2% Increase
2 / 24
2011 11,679 Increase 20.9 % Increase
3 / 24
2016 3,597 Decrease 6.4 % Decrease
3 / 24

Party leaders

# Leader Tenure Notes
1 Peter Karran, MHK 2006-2014 MHK from 1985-2016
2 Kate Beecroft, MHK 2014-present MHK from 2011-present

See also

References

  1. "Executive Council". Liberal Vannin Party. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  2. 1 2 "New Manx political party launched". BBC News. 4 September 2006. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  3. "Hamburg 2007". Liberal International. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  4. "Liberal Vannin Party - Isle of Man". Liberal International. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  5. "Sister Parties". Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  6. Goodman, Mike (28 October 2011). "All change in the Manx government". The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  7. "Peter Karran MHK". Liberal Vannin Party. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  8. "About Us". Liberal Vannin Party. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  9. "Kate Beecroft MHK". Liberal Vannin Party. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  10. "Kate is new Lib Van leader". IOM Today. 24 February 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  11. Vannin, Ellan (24 February 2014). "Kate Beecroft succeeds Peter Karran as Liberal Vannin leader". BBC News. Retrieved 12 April 2015.

External links

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